11 - Escape and Extradition

Summary

Focused on a discussion of escape within and across national and imperial borders, the first part of this chapter analyses events following convict escape to other jurisdictions. It covers absconding to and from British, Spanish, French, and Danish islands in the Caribbean, and from British Gibraltar to the Spanish peninsular. The second part focuses on French Guiana, because the scale of transportation to the colony from the mid-nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries, coupled with a highly organized traffic of convicts over river and sea borders, enabled and facilitated large numbers of escapes. It especially focuses on a group of 1848 convicts who fled to the USA and became involved in anti-slavery movement. Overall, the chapter stresses that convict absconding not only offers insights into convict agency and experience, but had profound and enduring legal consequences, notably a series of international agreements and ultimately laws on extradition and deportation. The experiences of these runaways varied widely, and whilst they sometimes demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of legal process, and ingenuity and ambition in determining their fate, the difficulties of remaining at large often confounded their desire for freedom. At the same time, their testimony on appalling conditions contributed to growing global anti-transportation.